It could be early retirement for the young British stars of the "Harry Potter" movies, director Chris Columbus tells Reuters.

"If I were a betting man I'd say they'll probably stop after three," the filmmaker, 44, said about 12-year-old Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and his sidekicks Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), 12, and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), 13.

The talented trio that starred in last year's hugely successful "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" will be seen again, reprising their roles in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," which opens Nov. 15.

A third movie, "The Prisoner of Azkaban," is slated to begin filming in March for a June 2004 release. Though Columbus directed the first two films, he will strictly serve as a producer on the third, as Alfonso Cuaron ("Y Tu Mama Tambien") takes over as director.

The move is because he would like to spend more time with his family, he said. Columbus and his wife, choreographer Monica Devereaux, have three children.

As for the kids in his "Potter" pictures, "If they ask my opinion, my advice would be to go back to being kids," said Columbus.

Asked for his own opinion about playing the bespectacled Potter in the future, Radcliffe told reporters Tuesday, "We're all definitely doing the third film. After that, who knows?"